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Local Legends 50th Anniversary Banner Series  

In 2026, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery celebrates its 50th anniversary. Local Legends – 50th Anniversary Banner Series celebrates this major milestone and our legacy as the gallery of Northern Ontario. With images drawn from our archives, a series of banners shines a light on key artists, defining moments, and pivotal events that illuminate the Gallery as a leader in public collections, a launch pad for the country’s leading artists, and a hub of culture and creativity in Thunder Bay.  

In 1976, the Gallery was federally founded as the National Exhibition Centre, a venue for travelling exhibitions from across Canada. Following an expansion of the building in 1982, the Gallery became Canada’s first public art institution dedicated to exhibiting and collecting contemporary Indigenous art. In the early 2000s, our mandate was broadened to include works by artists in Northwestern Ontario.  

Image: Artist Daphne Odjig at Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1996 ,2026, digital reproduction of an archival photograph, 8 x 16 ft . Courtesy of Thunder Bay Art Gallery  

Daphne Odjig (Odawa, Potawatomi and English heritage) was born in 1919 and was raised on Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. As a self-taught painter, she exhibited her work in the first Indigenous-owned gallery in Canada, which evolved from a small craft shop that she opened in 1971. In 1973, Odjig co-founded the “Professional Native Indian Artists Association (PNIA),” with the intent of bringing critical recognition to Indigenous art. Over her career, Odjig received numerous awards and significant recognition, including the Order of Canada.  

In 2009, at the age of 90, Odjig was the first Indigenous woman artist to have a solo show at the National Gallery of Canada. 

Image: Daphne Odjig, The Grand Entrance, 1989, acrylic on canvas, Purchased with assistance from The Canada Council Art Bank Special Purchase Assistance Program, 1989.